The Teen Brain

My post on The Teen Brain is over on Paper Hangover today!  Go check it out!

On another note, I did a blog update this morning and redirected everything to my domain name -- if you find something isn't working, please let me know!

The Beta Returns

Just for fun, I thought I'd share with you the range of emotion I experienced last night as I checked my email to find my crit notes from my Super Awesome Beta.

Now, I opened my email unsuspecting, thinking maybe there'd be some spam, but that's about it.  Then my eyes sorta bugged out:

 

Holy spamoley that was fast!  And suddenly my brain morphs into OMGSHEHATEDIT mode, and I looked more like this:

 

Once I got my wits about me enough to open the email, things started to look up. AKA the time where my brain goes ohthankGODshemightstilltalktome.  (My brain is very dramatic, but you all know this by now. lol)   So that looked more like this:

 

Then I got really brave and opened the file to see the in-line comments.  That's when I got a little...um...this...

Lots of work still to do, my friends, but I know I'm headed in the right direction now!  EEEEE!!

Tell me, do you go through the same sorts of thoughts and emotions when you get feedback? 

Friday Fives -- It's the little things

 

1. Pinterest - Pictures are my first go-to when I need a bit of inspiration, and there's no better way to find, categorize, or store them than Pinterest.  One intriguing image and my mind starts whirling, slinging questions, spinning plots, and I'm off on a new adventure.

2.  Get Out - Getting out of the house for a while, even if I just move my computer to the nearest coffee shop, can open my brainwaves up like nothing else.  New scenery, chattering people, and strong coffee are just the ticket.

3.  Super Spawn - I know I'm sorta biased, but I think my kiddo is just about the smartest kid out there.  He is incredibly perceptive, and I find a lot of my inspiration comes from questions he asks, or things he says.  If I'm stuck at a plot point, usually it's his sweet little face that utters something that smashes everything into place, and helps me realize what I'm doing wrong. 

4.  Friends - Seriously, my writer friends/beta readers/Goddesses of Brainstorming are irreplaceable.  I can fire off an email with a question, and in quick syncopation my inbox bings with answers and ideas.  Or if I'm having trouble thinking through (yet another) plot point, a chat with one of them will bring everything into focus.  (I love you guys!)

5.  Books - I think this one is kinda DUH, but reading a really great book gets my blood roaring and my heart pumping, ready to take on the challenge of becoming even a tenth as good as whoever the author is at writing.  ;)

What about you all?  What five things inspire your writing?

Newton's Third Law of...Writing?

My brain goes in some of the weirdest directions sometimes.  I've been thinking this week about all the lovely and shiny ideas I've had for stories over the last year, and how many of them tanked within the first 1,000 words on the page.

I've come to a conclusion:  For every good idea, there is an equal and opposite bad idea.

Looks familiar, doesn't it?  It should.  It's Newton's Third Law of Motion, which I've thoroughly corrupted for my own purposes.

I'm a nerd, I know.  I embrace that side of myself fully.

But it's true, not every idea can be a good one.  Not every idea can have a stellar concept, a breathtaking plot, and three-dimensional characters.  Can you imagine if they did?  I'd never leave my computer again!

Letting ideas or characters or whatever shiny bit of story it was that sprung to mind go can be sad-making.  I've still got one idea from a while back I'm clinging desperately to, hoping I'll be able to find a plot to fit it at some point.  But at some point you have to allow yourself to step back and say, "This idea isn't as great as I first thought, and that's okay.  It's time to move on."

Because some ideas turn out to be a brassy copper instead of that shiny gold color we were looking for.  Newton said that's how it had to be.  Blame him.  ;)

A Poem By Me

Today is the second anniversary of my younger brother's death.  I've written a poem I'd like to share with you all in memory of him:

Scars of Our Hearts


Silence surrounds in place of your laughter
A hint of longing forever after
Where tears will fall and fall again
This life with you we once began

Though you're with us nevermore
Days exist just like before
But different where the shadow bends
Around our heads and lifts our chins

We must go on through all the strife
And truth be told it's what you'd like
All we do, we do for you
For this life you never knew

Let's laugh, let's cry, let's say again
That too soon you met your end
Then once more the dust we'll gather
And mesh and press our hearts together.

-Holly Dodson 2011

Open Forum

Today I thought we'd have a little fun.  My brain is groggy thanks to allergies and cooler weather, so let's do a Q&A session!  You ask, I'll answer.  Whatever you want to know -- it can be about writing, about my processes, general stuff, whatever suits your fancy.

I'll answer in the comments, or if it's a long answer question, I'll make a blog post out of it.

 So, let's hear it, what questions are running through your mind this morning?


Disclaimer:  If you ask me things like, "What's Super Spawn's real name," I won't answer.  :)  Not that I don't want to but, you know, privacy issues and all. 

Dueling Projects

Over the weekend, after finishing a round of revisions, I sent my WIP off for its very first beta read.   *cue scary music*  Just kidding.  Nothing scary about a good critique.  ;)

I have, however, been struck by the Shiny New Idea fairy.  Fun times.  This is where the inspiration struck (thanks to Pinterest, my new favorite source)

Isn't she lovely?

Anyway, I've always been a one story at a time kind of girl.  Finish a project, then pick up another.  But this girl, this story, is refusing to wait.

So here's my question:  Is it wise to revise one story and write another at the same time?  Granted, it wouldn't be at the same very time, I'd write while WIP is out with betas and revise when it returned.  Do any of you work on multiple projects at once?

It seems wise to go ahead and learn now, because one day if I'm under deadline the reality is that I'll probably have a couple projects going at once.  Right?  I mean, that is the end goal.

What do you guys think?  Too risky, or a smart move?